Method and apparatus for conditioning air



P 1934- s. M. ANDERSON 1,972,912

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING AIR Filed Aug. 6, 1931 Fly. 3

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Patented Sept. 11, 1934 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING Am ISamuel M. Anderson, Sharon, Mass., assignor to B. F. Sturtevant Company, Hyde Park, Mass a co poration of Massachusetts Application August6, 1931, Serial No. 555,429

4 Claims. (Cl. 62-176) The present invention relates to methods andapparatus for conditioning the air.

Thepbject of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive anddependable method 6 and apparatus for supplying cooled anddehumidiliillfd air to rooms, auditoriums, vehicles, and the With thisobject in view, the principal feature of the invention comprises adehumidifier, to-

gether with means for circulating water therethrough and means forcooling water by direct contact with a body of ice. Control means areprovided for directing a variable quantity of -water into contact withthe ice in accordance with the temperature and humidity conditions ofthe air.

Other features of the invention consist in certain novel feahires ofconstruction, combinations and arrangement of parts hereinafterdescribed and particularly defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. l is a diagram of one form ofapparatus for practising the present invention; Fig. 2 is a sectionalview showing the arrangement of the cooler in the roof of a railway car:and Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of a modified, and in some respects,preferable form of cooler.

The illustrated apparatus comprises a dehumidifier 2 of suitable form,preferably a spray device of the type disclosed in my copendingapplicationSerial No. 395,402, filed September 26, 1929, through whichthe air to be conditioned is directed by a fan 4 and from which the airis distributed through a main duct 6. Water is continuously circulatedthrough the dehumidiiler by a pipe 8 leading from the drain of thedehumidifier to a cooler 10, thence through a pipe 12 to the inlet of apump 14, and. from the outlet of the. pump through a pipe 15 to theinlet of the dehumidifier. The outlet of the cooler is covered with ascreen or perforated plate 16 to prevent circulation of ice flakes withthe water.

The cooler 10 comprises an insulated casing containing a body of ice 1?with which the water contacts directly. The ice is preferably in theform of small chunks or flakes to afford a large surface for contactwith the water. The box is closed by an cover 18. Inasmuch as so thevolume of water in the system will increase,

due to the dehumidifying of the air, an overflow drain pipe 20 isprovided within the cooler. The temperature of the water supplied to thedehumidifier is controlled --by means of a bypm pipe 22, connectedaround the cooler be-' tween the pipes 8 and 12. A three-way valve 24,for varying the relative quantities of water passed through the coolerand through the bypass, is connected at the junction of the pipes 8 and22/ The setting of the valve 24 is 'automatically adjusted by a. controlmechanism 26 sensitive to temperature and humidity conditions in theduct 6. The valve may be either a gradual motion type to vary theproportions of water passed through the cooler and by-pass. or it may beof a snap acting type to by-pass the water entirely when the airtemperature passes below a predetermined point and to restore passage ofwater through the cooler when the air temperature rises to apredetermined value.

The pump 14 is driven by an electric motor 30 supplied with electricalenergy through leads 32. In one of the leads is included a. switch 38controlled by a thermostat 40 in the pipe 15 and adjusted to open theswitch 38 when the temperature of the circulated water rises above apredetermined value.

In operation, the water is continuously circudated through thedehumidifier, the extent of cooling of the water being controlled by aircon- 0 ditions, as determined by the device 26 and the by-pass valve 24.When the cooler is filled with ice, it is usually necessary to circulateonly a relatively small part of .the water through the cooler, and aconsiderable part is by-passed by 35 the valve 24, either continuouslyor intermittently, depending on the construction of the valve.

As the ice melts, a larger proportion of water is necessarily circulatedthrough the cooler to maintain the desired temperature and humidity 9conditions. Eventually, if the supply of ice is exhausted before it canbe replenished, the circulating water may rise to a sufliciently hightemperature so that the air cannot be properly dehumidified. At thattime, the thermostat 40 opens the motor circuit to shut ofl thecirculation of water and therefore to prevent improper conditioning ofthe air.

When applied to the cooling of vehicles, such as railway cars, the icemay be conveniently located in a receptacle in the roof of the vehicle,as shown in Fig. 2. The cooler 42 is provided with an insulated hatch 44through which the ice supply may be replenished from an elevatedplatform when the train is stopped at a station. 105 The overflow drainpipe 46 is conducted through a wall of the vehicle. With thisconstruction, the dehumidifying apparatus and the circulating system arepreferably placed below the floor of the vehicle.

A modified form of ice tank for use either in stationary installationsor in vehicles, as shown in Fig. 3, comprises a cooler 48 supportedbelow the floor 50. Extending upwardly as a continuation of the cooler48 is a magazine 52. The magazine preferably has walls with a slightdownward and outward flare, to prevent jamming of ice as it descends. 0nopposite sides of the cooler 48 are water chambers 54 and 56 separatedfrom the tank by filter or perforated metal screens 58. An overflow pipe60 is placed in each water tank. The inlet and outlet pipe connectionsfor the tanks 54 and 56 are shown at 62-and 64 respectively. The pump 14and the by-pass 22 are controlled and operated in the same manner as thesimilar parts of the construction of Fig. 1. The magazine is filled withflaked or chopped ice or, if preferred, with ice blocks, in the lattercase, the cooler being of sufilcient dimensions to permit fiow of wateraround the ice. By this construction, the ice settles by gravity fromthe magazine into the cooling tank as it is used and therefore providesuniform cooling of the water by the ice until the ice supply is nearlyexhausted. For stationary installations in buildings, the magazine maybe placed in a convenient location in the basement, and refilledperiodically through a chute. For a railway car installation, themagazine 52, which is not necessarily of large dimensions, may be placedin any convenient location, for example, in one side of the vestibule. Aspecial filling door 66 is used in place of the regular door on one sideof the car. The door is formed in two sections 68 and 70,. hingedtogether at 72. The bottom section is hinged above the fioor line at'14. By this construction, either the upper section or the entire doormay be opened for replenishing the ice in blocks or pieces of anydesired size. Alternatively, the magazine may be filled with ice througha hatch 64 in the roof.

In either of the constructions of Figs. 2 and 3, the control ofoperation is exactly similar to that employed in the construction shownin Fig. 1, the degrees of cooling of the water being controlled by theby-pass, and means being provided to shut down the circulation of thewater when the temperature becomes too high.

The method and apparatus of the present invention are of advantage inthat they do not require a refrigerating apparatus which in manyinstances is expensive to install and maintain. The apparatus isparticularly suitable for conditioning of air in railway cars, in thatthe cooling continues even though the vehicle may be required to make anextended stop. The apparatus is entirely independent of the motion ofthe vehicle and therefore permits a uniform control of temperature andhumidity conditions in the air.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A method of conditioning air which consists in supporting a column ofice exposed to atmospheric pressure, forcing a stream of water aroundand in contact with a definite portion of the ice at the bottom of thecolumn while permitting settling of ice from above as the ice at thebottom melts, and dehumidifying air by the cooled water.

2. Air conditioning apparatus comprising a cooler to contain ice exposedto atmospheric pressure, means for maintaining water around and incontact with the ice in the cooler, an ice magazine surmounting thecooler and containing ice unexposed to the water and arranged to feedice to the cooler as the ice therein melts, a dehumidifier, and meansfor circulating water from the cooler to the dehumidifier and forforcing the water from the dehumidifier to iElow around and in contactwith the ice in the cooler.

3. A method of conditioning air which consists in supporting a column ofice, flowing a stream of water through and around a definite portion ofthe ice at the bottom of the column while permitting settling of icefrom above as the ice at the bottom melts, maintaining a level of waterby overflowing excess water before it contacts with the ice, anddehumidifying air by the cooled water.

4. Air conditioning apparatus comprising a cooler to contain ice, meansfor flowing water through and around the ice in the cooler, an icemagazine surmounting the cooler and containing ice unexposed to thewater and arranged to feed ice to the cooler as the ice therein melts,an overfiow pipe adjacent the inlet of the cooler, a dehumidifier, andmeans for circulating water from the cooler to the dehumidifier.

SAMUEL M. ANDERSON.

